Sunday, October 29, 2017

One person can make a difference

One person can make a
difference.

When I write this, the Most
Rev. Michael Curry has been Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church for less
than two years. Yet while attending the Diocese of Hawai’i’s annual convention
a couple of weeks ago I was impressed by Bishop Curry’s pervasive influence on
the proceedings. This influence was especially noteworthy because Bishop Curry
was not present and will not formally visit this Diocese until 2019.

Evidence of his influence included:

A speaker early in the
proceedings repeatedly emphasizing that one of his favorite quotations was from
Bishop Curry (Forgive like Jesus; love like Jesus; serve like Jesus)

A video report from the
Diocesan youth attendees at the Episcopal Youth Event that prominently featured
Bishop Curry and his dynamic preaching

References by several individuals
to Bishop Curry’s call for Episcopalians to become Jesus people.

What has enabled Bishop Curry,
unlike some of his predecessors, to have such an outsize effect on the
Episcopal Church? Among the important elements of the answer to that question
are:

His consistent focus on a
single message, consistently applying and presenting that message in a wide
variety of contexts

His recognizing and utilizing
his significant gifts as a communicator

The work of the Holy Spirit,
blessing a bishop who has been called for such a time as this.

We live in an era when many individuals
seek fifteen minutes – or more – of fame. Much of our contemporary culture worships
celebrities, whether they are figures from the world of sports, media,
entertainment, political, or business. These individuals are twenty-first
century idols. Very often, celebrity personas are as contrived and artificial as
were the stone and wooden idols about which we read in the Bible.

Each person has a choice. Each
must decide whether to pursue celebrity or making a difference in the world.
Very few individuals will make a difference and become a celebrity. And in
pursuit of becoming a celebrity, the question arises of what price one is
willing to pay to become a celebrity. Being a celebrity – even for just a few
minutes – is rarely free or without compromise. Similarly, if one wants to make
a difference in the world, the questions are what price one is willing to pay
to make a difference and what difference one aims to make. Naming celebrities
who have changed the world at considerable harm to others and to the world is
relatively easy.

Naming living people who have
changed the world for the better without harming others or the world, though
perhaps at considerable cost to themselves, is much more difficult. Bishop
Curry is arguably one such individual. Are you?